Josip Juranovic cherished his World Cup bronze medal with Croatia and immediately turned his thoughts to Celtic's huge lead over Rangers.

The Hoops full back was one of the stars of the World Cup after a series of outstanding displays for his country, although he was injured for their third and fourth place triumph over Morocco at the weekend.

His performances have led to huge interest in the former Legia Warsaw defender from multiple clubs in Spain and Italy.

But he admitted he had one eye on Celtic's one-sided 1-0 win at Pittodrie against Aberdeen which was played a couple of hours before the semi-final losers' shootout.

Juranovic said: "I saw that we won and now we are nine points ahead of Rangers!"

And he dedicated the third-place finish to his critics.

READ MORE: Celtic’s Matt O’Riley puts Scottish Premiership on notice

He pointed out: "This medal is for all those who didn't believe in me, to whom I was a thorn in their side. Criticism like that motivates Lionel Messi too.

"I would like to thank my family, friends and my fiance's family, who always cheered me on when it was difficult.

"This is one of the most beautiful moments in the world, I will be in Croatian history for the rest of my life, I don't know how to describe how I feel.

"When you play with the players that Croatia have, you can only improve.

"I heard that Jurgen Klinsmann said that I was one of their players who he thought were a revelation at the World Cup - I thank him for his praise, but my team is responsible for that.

"When you play with guys like Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic, everything is simply easier in your life. I'll enjoy this moment."

Glasgow Times:

Our Celtic Digest newsletter brings exclusive content directly to you rather than solely through the website. You can already find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram but we will also send bespoke opinion pieces and special features directly to your email inbox every evening. Not only will you receive this article from Sean Martin, Tony Haggerty or Aidan Macdonald (or, sometimes, from all three) but you will also get easy access to our best content from the last 24 hours too. It’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish champions. To sign up, simply take five seconds to type in your email here. Simple!